Zo Benz

he/him
High School Apprentice
Forest Biodiversity Team

How did you get here? What brought you to Tyson?

My villain origin story? I came here from the SIFT program, like most people do. But before that, I’d always been interested in environmental science. I was obsessed with Wild Kratts when I was a kid, it was the only cartoon that I would watch. I really liked watching nature documentaries, and going to the zoo was my favorite thing ever. I remember in second grade, I was in a robotics class, and my idea was to create a robot that stopped emerald ash borers. I’ve always been interested in that sort of thing, always spent as much time outside as I could. Then I started volunteering at the World Bird Sanctuary when I was thirteen. I’ve been there for four years now. That’s when I realized I wanted to go into environmental science and wildlife biology. But that’s more of a conservation environment. I went into SIFT to see the fieldwork side of things.

What moments have made you feel most connected to the Tyson community?

Probably the environmental conference, though that wasn’t just the Tyson community. Being able to talk to people who are doing their own research all over the country was really cool. Plus the fact that all these professionals were having a conversation about the gayke. [This is a reference to a Pride flag cake from a few weeks earlier.] They were discussing how eating the gayke will turn you gay. That was a conversation that happened. I felt like I could fit in with this type of community, this little section of society. I could see myself getting along with these people.

How does your team stay motivated?

In the afternoons we play music. We have a shared Forest Team playlist, which is honestly like musical whiplash. We’ll go from metal to Dolly Parton to “Let It Snow” in a couple minutes. But it’s a fun thing to do, and we get to make fun of people’s music tastes.

What has surprised you about this summer?

I’m actually surprised how much I like the forest work. I mean, sometimes I don’t love it. Sometimes it’s kind of hell, in terms of humidity or something, but you get through it and it’s not the end of the world. I’m also surprised at how much easier it was to connect with people. Normally I’m not very talkative. This has been a cool experience to express myself, and get along with people on the same wavelength as me. Especially considering that some of them are seven years older than me. I feel like I fit in pretty seamlessly here.

What has been an affirming moment in your work this summer?

This is kind of silly, but whenever somebody calls me over and is like, Zo, do you know what type of mushroom this is? Can I eat it? And I’m like no, you can’t, it’s bright orange. But it’s cool to see people recognize me, and remember that I like foraging. And these people have degrees and I don’t, but they still asked me.